| Dear Friends,
As you consider your year-end giving, we hope you'll remember disaster survivors. Hardworking MDS volunteers will be responding in 15 communities throughout the United States this winter. A gift from you supports the volunteer effort to bring people like Joni Killius (pictured above) home.
The Florida home of Joni and her five kids - ages 6, 8, 10, 12, and 19 - was severely damaged by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. Joni is undergoing clinical trials for metastatic malignant melanoma. The family continues to live in the house, sometimes moving from room to room as MDS volunteers make repairs.
She described how the smallest kind gesture has made a huge difference in her daily life. "For a long time, we had a plastic tarp for almost the entire back wall, and we only had the bathtub for running water. The day the volunteers installed the sink and cabinets, I got a call from the school that my son had an allergic reaction. I left dishes piled in the bathtub and went to take care of him."
When she returned, the volunteers had done all the dishes. They also wrote, on the studs framing the bathroom, Proverbs 31: "Everyone, near and far, praises the woman of valor."
"It's not only the big repairs but those small things, too," said Killius. "I've been so surprised at how it feels to be surrounded by love like that. Every inch of this house has been prayed over."
A gift from you makes it possible for volunteers to repair, rebuild and care for others like the Killius family. This winter volunteers will be responding to hurricanes in Louisiana and Florida, flooding in Maryland and Virginia, and tornadoes in Kentucky, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama.
With much appreciation, | 
